1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to the design of laser scanning systems for reading bar code symbols or similar indicia and, more particularly, to method of changing the scanning pattern of a raster scan in order to more effectively read two dimensional bar code symbols. 2. Description of the Related Art
Various optical readers and optical scanning systems have been developed heretofore for reading bar code symbols appearing on a label or on the surface of an article. The bar code symbol itself is a coded pattern of indicia comprised of a series of bars of various widths spaced apart from one another to bound spaces of various widths, the bars and spaces having different light-reflecting characteristics. The readers and scanning systems electro-optically transform the graphic indicia into electrical signals, which are decoded into alphanumerical characters that are intended to be descriptive of the article or some characteristic thereof. Such characters are typically represented in digital form and utilized as an input to a data processing system for applications in point-of-sale processing, inventory control, and the like. Scanning systems of this general type have been disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,251,798; 4,360,798; 4,369,361; 4,387,297; 4,409,470 and 4,460,120, all of which have been assigned to the same assignee as the instant application.
As disclosed in some of the above patents, one embodiment of such a scanning system resides, inter alia, in a hand-held, portable laser scanning head supported by a user, which is configured to allow the user to aim the head, and more particularly, the light beam, at a target and a symbol to be read.
The light source in a laser scanner is typically a gas laser or semiconductor laser. The use of semiconductor devices as the light source in scanning systems is especially desirable because of their small size, low cost and low power requirements. The laser beam is optically modified, typically by a lens, to form a beam spot of a certain size at the target distance. It is preferred that the beam spot size at the target distance be approximately the same as the minimum width between regions of different light reflectivity, i.e., the bars and spaces of the symbol.
The bar code symbols are formed from bars or elements typically rectangular in shape with a variety of possible widths. The specific arrangement of elements defines the character represented according to a set of rules and definitions specified by the code or "symbology" used. The relative size of the bars and spaces is determined by the type of coding used, as is the actual size of the bars and spaces. The number of characters per inch represented by the bar code symbol is referred to as the density of the symbol. To encode a desired sequence of characters, a collection of element arrangements are concatenated together to form the complete bar code symbol, with each character of the message being represented by its own corresponding group of elements. In some symbologies a unique "start" and "stop" character is used to indicate where the bar code begins and ends. A number of different bar code symbologies exist. These symbologies include UPC/EAN, Code 39, Code 128, Codabar, and Interleaved 2 of 5.
For the purpose of our discussion, characters recognized and defined by a symbology shall be referred to as legitimate characters, while characters not recognized and defined by that symbology are referred to as illegitimate characters. Thus, an arrangement of elements not decodable by a given symbology corresponds to an illegitimate character(s) for that symbology.
In order to increase the amount of data that can be represented or stored on a given amount of surface area, several new bar code symbologies have recently been developed. One of these new code standards, Code 49, introduces a "two-dimensional" concept by stacking rows of characters vertically instead of extending the bars horizontally. That is, there are several rows of bar and space patterns, instead of only one row. The structure of Code 49 is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,794,239, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
A one-dimensional single-line scan, as ordinarily provided by hand-held readers, has disadvantages in reading these two dimensional bar codes; that is, the reader must be aimed at each row, individually. Likewise, the multiple-scan-line readers produce a number of scan lines at an angle to one another so these are not suitable for recognizing a Code 49 type of two-dimensional symbols.
In the scanning systems known in the art, the light beam is directed by a lens or similar optical components along a light path toward a target that includes a bar code symbol on the surface. The scanner functions by repetitively scanning the light beam in a line or series of lines across the symbol scanning component such as a mirror disposed in the light path. The scanning component may either sweep the beam spot across the symbol and trace a scan line across and past the symbol, or scan the field of view of the scanner, or do both.
Scanning systems also include a sensor or photodetector which functions to detect light reflected from the symbol. The photo-detector is therefore positioned in the scanner or in an optical path in which it has a field of view which extends across and slightly past the symbol. A portion of the reflected light which is reflected off the symbol is detected and converted into an electrical signal, and electronic circuitry or software decodes the electrical signal into a digital representation of the data represented by the symbol that has been scanned. For example, the analog electrical signal from the photodetector may typically be converted into a pulse width modulated digital signal, with the widths corresponding to the physical widths of the bars and spaces. Such a signal is then decoded according to the specific symbology into a binary representation of the data encoded in the symbol, and to the alphanumeric characters so represented.
The decoding process in known scanning systems usually work in the following way. The decoder receives the pulse width modulated digital signal from the scanner, and an algorithm implemented in software attempts to decode the scan. If the start and stop characters and the characters between them in the scan were decoded successfully and completely, the decoding process terminates and an indicator of a successful read (such as a green light and/or an audible beep) is provided to the user. Otherwise, the decoder receives the next scan, performs another decode attempt on that scan, and so on, until a completely decoded scan is achieved or no more scans are available.